Kenyan political activist and theatre artist Shailja Patel has gone into the exile after she was found guilty of a civil offence by a Nairobi court.
Shailja, alongside Professor Wambui Mwangi, was found guilty of defamation after they accused renowned journalist and poet Tony Mochama of sexual harassment.
Mochama, popularly known as Smitta Smitten, sued the two women in 2014 after they claimed he sexually assaulted Shailja during a lunch meeting at Prof Wambui’s house situated in Nairobi’s Loresho area.
After a protracted court battle, Nairobi Senior Resident Magistrate Addah Obura last week ruled the two defamed Mochama, and ordered them to pay him Sh9 million damages.
In a court ruling on August 5, Shailja and Wambui were also ordered to apologise to the Standard Group journalist through the court within 14 days.
A mandatory injunction against the two was also issued, restraining them from ever contacting, writing or causing the writing of defamatory statements about Mochama.
Shailja dismissed the ruling and termed it as an attempt to gag whistle-blowers of sexual violence in the country. She vowed not to pay damages or issue an apology.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday evening, the author said she would rather be in exile than be 'silenced' by Mochama and his key witness, human rights activist Wanjeri Nderu-Musembi.
"I've left Kenya. I've gone into exile, knowing I face jail if I ever come home. Tony Mochama and Wanjeri Nderu-Musembi will not silence me. They will not humiliate me. They will not disappear me. They will not break me. They Will Not Take My Voice," she posted.
"Tony Mochama, Wanjeri Nderu-Musembi, and A.M. Obura need to shut down any possibility of a #MeToo in Kenya. To deter all Kenyans from sexual-violence whistleblowing with the sledgehammer of financial ruin. Hence the baseless, punitive, amount of damages. I refuse," Shailja added.